Alberta oil and gas industry, environmental groups watching COP26 climate talks
Global News
Alberta energy leaders and environmental groups are attending the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
An Alberta-based clean-energy think tank says there needs to be a partnership between the federal and provincial governments to make progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which starts Sunday in Scotland, will see world leaders and government officials gather for 12 days of talks. What happens there could have implications for Alberta’s oil and gas sector.
Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions are the highest in the country, according to federal data.
“In many ways, we are waiting for the government of Alberta to catch up with where the public, industry and other levels of government are already acting,” said Simon Dyer, deputy executive director at the Pembina Institute.
Dyer, who will be attending the climate summit, predicts Canada will remain unable to significantly reduce emissions without addressing oil and gas and transportation emissions.
Dyer said Canada can’t succeed without progress in Alberta.
“Unfortunately, Alberta seems to be isolating itself from this conversation. We haven’t even made a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. Alberta is sort of on the outside looking in and that’s dangerous to our industries, of course, which are going to be competing in this low carbon future,” Dyer said.
Neither Premier Jason Kenney nor any of his cabinet ministers are going to the climate summit.